Once Upon A Lonely Prince
by fizzsparkles
Summary: Kyoya Ootori reflects upon the influences of various Host Club Members. Pairings: Haruhi x Tamaki


**Once Upon a Lonely Prince**

_**An Ouran Host Club Fan Fiction**_

He's suffered, more than anyone should have. Especially that year. Something changed for him that year, something that made him shut off from the world; shut off from me, his best friend that he'd told everything too since we'd first met. That year, I was the only one that saw his sadness. I saw the tears that pushed longingly behind those violet eyes, the quivering tick in the lips that softly caressed those of a younger girl, the fierce sorrow that beckoned every time she ignored him, or payed more attention to the twins than him. No one saw that but me. I only noticed because I knew. I knew long before he did what.

He used to confide in me before then. He used to tell me everything that was going on in his life, the fears, the anguishes, the problems. He used to make me tea and we'd sit at the kotatsu table I'd brought for him and he'd talk. Most of the time, he'd cry and unload his feelings, and when he was finished, he'd give a sad smile and ask how I was doing. "How are you Kyoya? What's going on in your life? Anything you want to talk about?" He never ceased to amaze me. No matter what new insanity was going on in his life, he'd always be there to make sure I was ok, when clearly he was dealing so much more emotional turmoil than any teenage boy should. Yes, he was a good friend.

Even through the first year of high school, he still talked to me. Anything he needed to say, he'd say. You could say we were an unlikely duo though. The blonde Frenchman, full of life and smooth with the ladies, and me, cool, calculating Kyoya, who was always in it for himself. It was true, the only reason I had befriended Tamaki in the first place was because my father had asked me too, and I had something to gain from it, but in the long run, I had found a friend. After a while, I forgot about my ulterior motives and just enjoyed the company, and for the first time ever having a true friend that I could talk to, however different the two of us were.

But entering the second year of high school, something changed with Tamaki. He became somehow more outlandish than I could ever remember seeing him. He started to close off from me and by mid-term exams; he'd stopped talking to me altogether outside of the Host Club. Something changed in him, something had made him stop talking to me and start closing himself off from the world.

She changed him, I could see that. I knew long before anyone else Tamaki's true feelings for Haruhi. The truth is I knew long before even he did. I could see that one day passionate sparks would fly. From the moment he called her his daughter (and more humiliatingly, he called me Mummy) I could see the beginnings of love. Sadly I never saw her reciprocate the feelings, at least not until we nearly lost him forever.

No matter what emotional rollercoaster he took me on when he confided in me, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed helping him. I had nothing to gain from it, but it taught me something. Friendship isn't about gaining anything, it's about trust, and if you can't do that, what's the use in being friends? When he stopped talking to me, I missed it. I missed helping him get through. He hasn't had an easy life, and now that he'd finally realised what his true feelings were, it wasn't going to any happier any quicker.

After we nearly lost him to the violent clutches of Éclair Tonnere, I pulled him aside. I removed him from his family situation that was causing him so much anguish, and put him up at my house for the first month our holiday break, before we entered our final year of high school. I myself was dealing with some family issues at the time also, but nothing compared to Tamaki's. We did things that normal commoner teenage boys did, much to my apparent disgust, but I enjoyed them because Tamaki did. We played video games for endless hours, watched too much anime and too many horror movies, and procrastinated over things we had to do. As much as I could, I avoided other Host Club members, especially Haruhi. As much as he might have wanted to visit her, I thought it best if I kept those two apart. After his latest upheaval, Tamaki wasn't ready to take the next step with Haruhi; he was still dealing with the Éclair incident, and seeing Haruhi wouldn't have made it any easy.

Even now, as we face graduation in a few hours' time, Tamaki still refuses to talk about Éclair. He has not mentioned her name since the first day he stayed at my house after what happened, and he poured his heart out to me about everything that happened. Whether or not he has spoken to anyone else about her, I don't know. All I know is that he is happy now. He is truly happy, for the first time since I have known him. And, as I sit across the room writing to you now, he is smiling into the mirror and looking very suave and handsome. He knows his sweetheart is waiting outside, and I can tell you, Haruhi is beautiful. She is the loveliest, most kind person you could ever meet. She has made Tamaki a better person. In fact, she has made Hikaru, Karou, Honey, Mori and I better people for knowing her. She is the perfect girl for Tamaki; she kind of balances out is over emotional behaviour.

After graduation Tamaki plans to fly out to France to see you. He has made it known to his Grandmother that if he must sever all ties with the Suoh family in order to see you again, he will. And if she wishes to leave him high and dry with no money and no inheritance, then so be it. He will do it the commoner way, the way he wants to do it.

I think if that happened, Tamaki would be truly contented.

Yours faithfully,

_Kyoya Ootori_


End file.
